How Weight Loss Changed My Life

This is how losing weight changed my life forever. My attitude changed, I found success and I even finally married the right woman for me!

In September of 1999, I weighed in at over 50 pounds above my recommended body weight. I was miserable, and I didn’t know why, the mirror didn’t show what I needed to see.

That September I took a trip out to visit a friend. We planned on taking his sport fisherman boat from Ocean City, NJ to Cape May, NJ on the Atlantic Ocean.

The weather was beautiful, it had been a warm all summer and the water was a perfect temperature.

His boat was huge at over 50 foot in length. It had everything from home including entertainment center, two bedrooms, kitchen and dining room. The boat is navigated from the roof, where there is the captain’s chair, along with a couple of other chairs that are incredibly comfortable.

During the trip, we stopped while my friend decided we would go swimming in the ocean. I thought it was an incredible idea. I took off my shirt, ran to the top of the boat and dove off after he went first. Before I dove off, my ex took a picture of me that would prove to be a turning point later.

The swells in the ocean were huge— I would talk to my friend while swimming as we met between waves going up and down.

I asked Carl, what about sharks?

He told me not to worry, if one bit me, I wouldn’t have to worry about it.

That was a comforting feeling. Obviously, I made it out of the water just fine.

When I returned home, I had the photos developed. Cameras still were film based, digital cameras were much later.

As I looked at the pictures, I didn’t like what I was about to see, I was extremely overweight, I looked terrible.

Soon after that, the Atkins diet was all the rage. My office decided that everyone would get on it, so we could encourage each other to succeed. Unfortunately, nobody stuck to the diet—that is nobody but me.

I did the diet religiously; everybody lied saying they were doing it too. I lost over 35 pounds in just one month. I felt great, but nobody was happy with me, except me.

At this point, I realized I had done more than lose weight. I now knew I had to change my environment, this was not healthy for me. There was not one other person that wanted to change their life.

My life has always been about change and I’m glad I did. While it’s been a bumpy road, I can tell you that had I stayed, I would have never accomplished what I have to date. I would have missed some truly fantastic experiences and I would have never met my wife who has been the best thing in my world.

I have people in my life who are about me being the best I can be, they don’t compete with me, they support me to go for my dreams and live my life the way I see fit.